Youth
by curiouscharlie
Summary: A short fic depicting what I think should have happened after Isaac showed up at Scott's house at the end of Unleashed. Scott/Isaac pairing, pretty angsty and fluffy, which is just the way I think it should be.


**A/N:** _Hey guys! This takes place right after the end of Unleashed, when Isaac shows up at Scott's place. I was inspired by ALL the Scisaac feels. This is my very first Teen Wolf fanfic so it took a lot for me to actually post it! There is a very very small chance that I might, eventually, post a follow up chapter, but I need to take a while to think about it._

_While writing it I listened to this ( /kaitlingeneva/when-heartbreak-knocks-on-your-door ) to kind of set the mood while I was writing, and the title comes from Youth by Daughters. I thought the song was pretty fitting. _

_Anyway, I hope you like it and please review when you're done! Thank you! =D_

_(Also, man, that episode. Need I say more?)_

* * *

"What happened?" I cried, jumping from my desk. The math homework I'd been working on clattered to the floor, no longer important. I could only imagine what brought Isaac to me at this time of night, obviously in such a rush he couldn't be bothered by the rain. Images of the alphas ripping another innocent person to shreds bombarded me. My mind cranked into gear, pulse kicking up a notch.

I crossed my room, searching for some jackets to deflect the rain, to keep the cold out. Tossing the garment to Isaac, I picked my phone up off the nightstand.

"We should probably call Stiles, he'd want to know what happened... Isaac?" I paused, noticing he had not yet answered, withdrawing my thumb from the speed dial, I let my phone drop back onto the table. Isaac's defined features, his ridiculously blue eyes, were clouded over by a look I'd only seen a few times before, mainly when he'd explained some of the things his father had done to him. My prior worry about the alphas, the sacrifices, the wolves in general, were replaced by a pang of realization: He wasn't here because something bad happened to someone else. He was here because something bad happened to him.

"Oh man, I'm sorry! Here," I grabbed the afghan from my bed and wrapped it tightly around Isaac's trembling shoulders. Letting my hands linger on his shoulders, I noticed how small he suddenly seemed, as if whatever happened had completely shattered the strong person he'd spend the last few months building himself up to be. "Do you want to change? You're dripping all over the place." I finished with a smile, hoping for one in return. Those grins, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes when I said something funny, I lived for those.

He paused for a minute, like he needed time to gather his words together to form the words he wanted to speak. "I... have some spare clothes in my bag, if I can just..." He trailed off and I wondered if speaking took too much effort for him.

"Tell you what, I'll go get some more blankets while you change, and then maybe we can go make some hot chocolate or something warm?" He gave a small nod, so tense that I almost missed it. I gave his shoulders a squeeze before leaving him to get out of his wet clothes. As I let go of him, I noticed a small, rust colored drop on the edge of his collar, almost small enough to miss.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and without an answer I started examining his skin, taking each arm quickly in my hands, flipping them over, checking for any sign he could be hurt. Then I moved back up to his collar, gently tipping his head side to side so I could make sure he was okay. Coming back empty, I started tugging at the edges of his shirt, worried that he cared so little about himself that he wouldn't tell me if he was seriously injured.

"Scott," Isaac's hands found mine and stilled them, "I'm fine, I just..." Seeming to not want to look me in the eyes, he focused on the space behind me. "Can we talk about it later?" He asked, voice shaking almost as much as he was. Though he wouldn't look at me I could see the uncertainty in the way he grasped me like he never wanted to let go.

"Of course."

* * *

Walking through the house, I figured it was probably a good thing my mom was still at the hospital working the night shift. Seeing Isaac drenched and freezing from the rain would have sent her into a frenzy, fussing over him and insisting he take a shower to warm up. which could have easily sent him into panic mode if he found the bathroom space too constrictive. What Isaac needed now was a calm environment and someone he could trust. I hoped I could deliver both.

On the way back to my room, I grabbed some blankets and a towel from the upstairs closet, figuring he'd need something to dry off with once he was decent. Had I been thinking clearly a few minutes before, I would have brought him a towel as soon as he entered my room. His presence seemed to cause the decision making part of my brain to go haywire, and it looked like nothing I did could fix that.

I stepped into my room only to find Isaac in the same place I'd left him. He'd changed into a different shirt and a pair of black sweatpants and folded my afghan over the desk chair, but his hair was still dripping into his eyes and all over his shirt, and for a moment I forgot entirely that I wasn't supposed to feel this way about him because there was no chance he felt the same.

The only sound in the room was the occasional crash of thunder and the roaring of my heart, the latter of which I knew Isaac could hear as clearly as I could. Crossing to him, I pried the soaking clothes from his icy fingers and tossed them into my bathroom where they were more than welcome to drip a giant puddle on the floor. My only concern right now was for the frigid boy standing before me, eyes glassily fixed on the wall in front of him.

"You can sit..." I trailed, gesturing to my bed. He ignored me, so I waved my hands in front of his face, hoping to catch his attention. "Isaac?" Fingers clamping against his damp skin, I shook him gently by the arms, and finally he snapped out of it.

Isaac's mouth shook into a small frown and I was taken aback by how sad he looked before he stepped forward and sagged against me, his body shaking as he took in shallow breaths of air. We swayed slightly before my instincts kicked in, pushing the surprise aside and allowing me to hold tightly on to him.

"I thought..." He started shakily, fingers clutching fistfulls of my shirt, voice barely more than a whisper. "When he died, you know, it killed me. But at the same time I thought_ 'Hey, at least he won't-'_" Voice breaking, he released my shirt to instead squeeze me as tightly as he could without hurting me. I found my hands had a mind of their own, one just barely brushing the wet curls at the base of his neck, the other rubbing circles on his back.

"I thought it would stop, but it doesn't really ever stop does it?" He broke the embrace and pulled back, his hands barely touching the skin above my shirt collar, and his eyes found mine for the first time since he'd walked through my door. Panic flashed in them, and for a moment the bright blue flickered to a wolfy yellow._ "It never stops."_ He growled, pulling away completely and turning towards my bed. He rubbed his fingers through his hair in a way that made my mouth go dry. I wanted so badly to do that myself, to run my hands through the damp curls before pulling his face towards mine and-

And I was being completely selfish.

"Hey," I murmured, pulling him back to me. "You're safe here, you know that right?" I asked, and since he didn't say anything, I took his silence as an agreement.

I picked up the towel from where I'd abandoned it on the floor and motioned for Isaac to lean forward. Careful to not pull his hair, I rubbed the towel against his wet curls, failing to hold back laughter when I stopped and he suddenly had a large poofy mass on top of his head instead of the tame twists I was so used to.

To my surprise he returned the laugh then shushed me, pulling his fingers through his hair to deflate it. The small grin on his face and the way the light from my lamp cast a warm glow on his skin sent my blood pounding in my ears, an involuntary gasp escaping my lips.

Mid-hair twist he stopped and shot me a look of confusion and maybe even shock if I was being honest with myself, which melted into a very sly grin. I had a sudden sinking feeling, something along the lines of 'oh crap' because even though I liked him, even though I wanted to push him down on my bed and and never be without him, I didn't want anything to come between our friendship. I didn't want to lose him.

"How about that hot chocolate?"

* * *

"My mom is way better at this than me, so I apologize if it's awful." I said, sliding the steaming mug across the counter, wrapping his fingers around it before I reached for my own. On the way down I'd stopped at the thermostat to crank the heat up, hoping it would push out the chill that tonight's storm carried in.

Isaac was leaning against the counter, blanket still gathered around his shoulders. Absorbed in his mug of undoubtedly stale from-the-box drink, he was oblivious to the worry radiating from me in waves. I could tell that whatever happened to him was triggering memories of his past with his dad, but he still hadn't become comfortable enough to open up to me about it. I didn't blame him but I felt the need to comfort him and I wasn't sure how to do that.

"Can I ask you what happened?" I didn't want to press the subject but I wanted to make sure he would be okay, that he hadn't been attacked by something that could hurt him again. He sighed, a sad sound, and set his now empty mug in the sink. Pulling the comforter tighter, his chest expanded with a deep breath and when he exhaled the words broke free of his body, like he'd spent a lifetime holding them back.

"Derek threw me out like I was _nothing_, Scott. He-" Isaac's voice was cut off by another sound, something between a sob and a burst of laughter. "The blood you saw earlier? He threw a glass at me, just like when..." He squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his hands over his face. The sight of him like this was so unbearable that I moved closer to show him I was there for him. "Right after it happened I healed, but I guess it dripped, I don't know."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Isaac, is there anything I can do? Just ask, I'm here for you."

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. I didn't know what to do, I don't have anywhere to go and he knows that and I just..." Scoffing his foot angrily against the floor and turning away from me so I couldn't see the flush in his cheeks from the effort of stubbornly holding back tears, Isaac wrapped his arms around his body, a soft whine escaping his throat. "I'm sorry, I should go. I didn't mean to bother you, you probably don't want me here."

A sniffle sounded as he turned to leave, and I wasn't sure if it came from him or me. Reflexively I caught him by the wrist before he could take more than two steps. My fingers slid across his palm and it was almost enough, if I couldn't be this close to him again, at least I'd have that.

"Don't go Isaac, I... please stay?" After a moment's hesitation I heard his racing heart slow. He turned back to me, surveying my face to make sure I was being truthful. When he was sure I was, his shoulders slumped in relief.

* * *

We decided to make our way back to my room on account of his lingering chill and my increasing tiredness. After picking up my forgotten textbooks from the floor and setting them on my desk, I looked to Isaac, unsure of if he'd want to sleep in my bed with me or if I should sleep on the couch for the night.

Seeing my indecision, he reached for me, fingers tangling with mine before pulling me down next to him on the bed. We sat like that for a while, backs to the window. At some point, Isaac slowly scooted so close that our sides were pressed tightly together, his head resting on the pane behind us. I was overly aware of the chill of his skin, the goosebumps that appeared and disappeared every so often along the backs of his arms.

"Want another blanket?" I asked, shifting to grab one from the pile at the end of my bed. Almost immediately he pulled me back, shaking his head slowly.

"You know, I still haven't even warmed up from the ice bath? It's like I'm permanently cold, today didn't even make it worse. I'm almost getting used to it." He stated this with a laugh, mocking himself. I flashed back to the memory of him submerged in the water, grasping my arm like he was afraid he'd be lost if he let go. If it were possible, knowing he hadn't fully recovered made my heart hurt a whole lot more for him.

Frowning, I reached forward and grabbed the blankets anyway, wrapping him tightly in them despite his protests.

"You shouldn't have to get used to it." I stated, taking his hands in mine. I began rubbing my hands against his, trying to chafe some warmth into them, something I'd read about in one of the books piled by my bathroom door. No idea which book it was, but at least I remembered reading it.

Isaac sighed quietly, allowing me to move from his hands to his arms, which was a bit more difficult but I didn't mind as long as it was helping. For a while I continued on, and after a few minutes of silence, he began to speak.

"Once, when my dad was in a particularly awful... you know... he told me I deserved every bad thing that ever happened to me. And every bad thing that will happen to me. At first I didn't believe him, but I kept thinking about it, and every time he came at me it was the only thing I could think about. I deserved it because I wasn't doing well in school. I deserved it because I couldn't be who he wanted me to be." He stopped talking, tugging at a thread on his sweatpants, fingers moving furiously. "And when he died, I thought I deserved that too because I wasn't there to save him, and now every bad thing that's happened since then is my fault because I could've- should have saved him, and I just-" Isaac buried his face in his hands, pulling back from me.

I tried to console him, but sadness stuck my tongue to the roof of my mouth and the only noise I could make was from clearing my throat. This was something he'd never spoken to me about, and I doubted he'd told anyone else. Keeping something like that from everyone, I couldn't imagine how hard it would be. I tried again, my voice gravelly.

"I want you to know that if you ever need anything, I'm here for you, okay?" He was still mumbling to his hands, so I pulled them away from his face, bending down to make sure he could see me and that he wasn't stuck reliving one of his past horrors._ "Isaac,"_ The soft words streaming from his lips ceased, and I continued, looking directly into his eyes. "None of anything that happened to you was your fault, okay? You don't deserve any of that."

He was staring at me now, wide-eyed and disbelieving. I wanted so badly for him to realize that he deserved so much more than the awful things that had happened to him, that what he really deserved was to be warm and happy like everyone else.

"But I don't-"

"No buts. I promise, _I promise_ you deserve better than any of that. I know you might not feel that way right now, but I promise it's true."

The sound of thunder returned, along with the low grumbling noises of the radiator, while he thought about what I was saying. Though much warmer than earlier, I still held his hands in mine so he wouldn't be able to hide behind them. Patiently I waited for him to respond, hoping that something I said would get through to him. I knew it would take a long time for him to heal from his past, and maybe he would never fully grow past it, but I knew I wanted to be the one to help him through it if I could.

Finally he nodded, followed by a halfhearted shrug, his arms falling limply by his sides. The whole movement was just so sad, so lonely that there was nothing I could do but envelope him in a tight embrace, whispering encouraging words in his ear as he squeezed me back. Eventually he pulled me into his cocoon of blankets, not letting go even when my feet got stuck between the sheets and I had to make an awkward shift-kick-wiggle move to free myself. Personally, I found it embarrassing but it earned a soft laugh from Isaac and that made it totally worth it. We stayed wrapped up together, conversing about lighter subjects, like what we might do over the weekend and how much cross country sucked. I was careful to avoid Derek and and any other triggering subject, figuring he'd had enough for one night and really, so had I.

* * *

A good while later I stared blearily at the ceiling while Isaac curled into the pillow beneath him. Lighted only by the moon climbing steadily across the sky, my room was just the right amount of dark, just light enough to see the reflection in Isaac's eyes, telling me he was still awake. Considering how much he'd been through in one day I was surprised to find I was more tired than he was.

"Scott? I've been thinking..." Isaac trailed off nervously, pushing himself off the pillows with his elbows. He shuffled his way across the bed to me and stopped momentarily to move his fingers across my jaw and settle them behind my neck, his half closed eyes meeting mine.

"Yeah?" I asked sleepily, giving him an encouraging half smile.

He brought his lips to mine, a soft and questioning kiss, and I had just enough time to return it before he pulled back. The chill of his lips still lingering on mine, a small smile crossed his face before he lowered his head to my shoulder, wrapping his arm around my torso. I pulled the blankets back up to cover his still shivery body before resting my arm across his back and lightly trailing my fingers on his skin. After relaxing his body against mine, letting his curls tickle my chin while I smiled to myself, he whispered,

"Thank you."


End file.
